Making a Mountain Out of a ….

…BALLOON???  Yes sir, that’s exactly what my granddaughter, Cailin, did at my house this past week.  She had the entire week off from school and a project to complete.  She was making a diorama for a book report and she chose a scene from The Hobbit.

We went through everything I had in my craft supplies and came up with some pretty ingenious solutions – no additional purchases were made.  First, she taped an upside down heart balloon on an old cardboard box.  Then she taped a paper cup on top and finally a sno-cone cup for the peak.




Then we tore up LOTS of newspaper.



I had never worked with paper Mache before but we fiddled around and made a solution consisting of Elmer's glue, water, and flour.  YUM!!  Seemed to work fairly well.


One strip at a time, Cailin built her mountain.


Normally Cailin does not like to get messy so this was a bit of a stretch for her.  But she stayed with it and completed her task – it was definitely a messy one!!


Can I wash now, Grandma??


I made some play clay and after the paper Mache dried, she filled in the sides of the mountain a bit and added a curve on top.  Then it was a lot of painting.


She painted the base, and a backdrop with a moon.  She found a birdhouse in my craft cupboard that looked like a tower and painted that.  We got pictures of a dragon and a knight from the internet and laminated them.  She wanted a lake in front of the castle and we were momentarily stumped until she spied a plastic lid for a disposable foil cake pan!!  Instant lake!!

She worked diligently all week long on this project.  Finally, it was done.  The village is burning in her scene from the book and she cut out every one of those flames from tissue paper.  The smoke is fiber fill stuffing.




Here’s a long shot of the whole scene.  She made the bridge from some balsa wood and popsicle sticks.  She will put water and pebbles in the “lake” after she gets the whole thing set up at school.  The “blood” on the dragon is red crochet thread and the “sword” that slayed him is a toothpick.  Bits of broken popsicle stick are parts of the broken bridge that will float when she adds water to the lake.  The dragon slayer stands on the platform.
Click on picture to enlarge and show details.





I am really proud of Cailin and the ingenuity she showed in using whatever materials I had on hand.  It took a lot of imagination and creativity to complete her task and a lot of determination as well. 

One final touch…we found a battery operated tea light and when she put it on top of the tower, it really brought the flames to life.



Nicely done, Cailin!

The ABCs of Thankfulness

Our Thanksgiving is over for the year and it’s not even 1 p.m. yet!  We did something totally different this year and went out to dinner with my sister Laila and her hubby Brian.  Went to Home Town Buffet and it was excellent.  No cooking, no cleaning up – what a concept!  Not that I didn’t miss the rest of the family but for us, this worked this year.  We had a great time.





Now, the ABCs of thankfulness.

Today I am thankful for…

Air – it would be hard to breathe without it.
Bananas – they sure do help with those pesky leg cramps
Corn – I rely on that a lot!
Dogs – the best of God’s creation
Eggplant – it’s just so PURPLE!! (nice to look at – not to eat)
Flowers – the more the better
Grace – “The Blessing”
Home – it’s where your Honey is
Insulin – it keeps my Honey alive!!
Jesus – yup, I’m one of those Believer types!!
Kangaroos – they make me laugh
Love – now that might seem trite…but it’s true.  Where would we be without love?
Music – it makes the world a happier place
Night – great for sleeping and star gazing
Opera – okay, maybe not!
Peanuts – so I can keep the squirrels and blue jays happy
Quiet – the pause that refreshes
Russ – but of course!!
Sister - mine is the best ever
Tums – be right back, gotta go get one!!  Ah, that’s better.
Universe – so many mysteries yet to be uncovered
Vacuums – I am glad I don’t have to throw my rugs over the clothes line and beat them with a wicket.
Wilderness – big or small, a place to get away and enjoy nature
X-rays – aren’t they just a marvelous invention?
You – my friends and family!
Zip lock storage bags – just think of how we used to have to wrap everything up in wax paper!!

So that’s my A-Z Thankfulness list.  Hope you have a wonderful day and don’t forget to be thankful for all the little things around you.

Just Watching the Nature Channel

Being stuck at home is not all bad.  We have a big window looking out on the backyard and two cozy recliners.  Every morning we sit and watch the happenings in our backyard – we call it the Nature Channel.  As I have said before, we are easily amused! 

We put out peanuts, suet, seeds, and of course water, then just sit back and watch the action.  Our bird bath and fountain have been frozen solid so I have been putting out fresh water for the critters.  Don’t like to see them drink out of the pool because of the chemicals.  I got a heated water dish from Amazon so now we don’t have to worry about the cold nights.

We have been surprised at all the birds we have seen.  Of course we have the ubiquitous crows…


All pictures were taken through our dirty window so not as clear as they should be.  Gee, maybe I should wash the window!!

The Scrub Jays love the peanuts and will squawk until they are fed.



We even had a Northern Flicker the other day.


Of course the squirrels are always in on the action.  We don’t mind – we find them amusing and there is plenty for everyone.




Today we saw several new birds.  I have tried to identify them through our Oregon bird books and the All About Birds website, but I am really not too confident of my results.  I’m sure someone out there can correct me if I’m wrong.

This I think is a Townsend’s Warbler.


These little guys landed in a big flock.  At first I thought they were immature starlings but they are really tiny.  They might be a flock of bushtits.





Best I can tell, this is a Bewick's Wren.





And how about a Black Capped Chickadee?


Could this be a Dark-eyed Junco?





This one I have been unable to identify.  Looks like a little sparrow but it has a yellow throat and yellow under its wings.  Anyone know what this is??


And lastly, a precious, but not necessarily rare species.  This  species is found throughout the world and is often domesticated, though many remain wild.  It comes in many sizes and colors and can be found in the wild as well backyards.  Its habitat is varied and it does well in mountains, desert, north or south.  They go by varied names but this one is identified as the Red Legged Seed Spreader.  It’s my favorite old bird.

Pretty impressive wingspan!!


One more view of this magnificent creature.  I hear if you treat them right, they will hang around for years!!


That’s it!  I think I’ll quit while I’m ahead.

Russell and his Red Hat

Old people do silly things.  When we get bored or need a bit of exercise, we go to our local Fred Meyer store and walk around and cause trouble.  Sometimes we see things we like.  We don’t want to buy them, we just want to play with them and take pictures!!

Russ loves Twinkies and since they went out of business for a while, he has been worried about his future procurement of those spongy delights.  He found what he wants for Christmas:

Now he can make his own.  Even Russ should be able to manage this handy gadget!!

Russ also found some great gifts from his favorite TV Stars – those Robertson guys from Duck Dynasty:












They even come as nutcrackers!







Found the perfect plaque for Russ:

All he needs is a white beard.  This might be more appropriate for Rick!

Son John will know what this is all about:


And finally, the ultimate Red Hat.   I can’t believe I talked him into it!


Hope you are all having some fun in your lives!

A Very Nice Surprise from California

It didn’t start out as a very good day.  The caulk I purchased at the hardware store rang up at the wrong price and the clerk didn’t believe it was on sale. I went back in the store and took a picture of that one and went straight to the service desk – I got the sale price.  I couldn’t find the right paint to cover a repair in the fiberglass shower.  Trying to repair wallpaper resulted in wall paper glue running down my arm and dripping off my elbow (well, almost).  We finally decided to call it a day and went out for pizza.  Now, THAT was good!!

When we got home, there was a box sitting on the front step.  I tried to remember what I had ordered from Amazon but couldn’t think of a thing.  That’s good because it wasn’t from Amazon!  It was from Los Gatos, California and those great people at Merikay’s Dream!

Russ and Craig like to talk smack about the Ducks.  If you have met us or followed this blog for long, you know we love our Ducks.  A couple of years ago Russ and Craig had a side bet on the Oregon/Wisconsin game.  Ducks won that one and Craig sent us some Wisconsin cheese – YUMMY. 

Last week, the Ducks were playing Stanford.  Now a few years ago this would have been a gimme but in the last several years, Stanford has come back as a force to be reckoned with.  Since our pursuit of being a contender in the national championship game was at stake, Russ told Craig we would send him an EMPTY Kleenex box if we lost.  Well, the mighty Oregon Ducks forgot to show up to that game until the last 7 or 8 minutes and we did indeed loose the game.  We used a lot of Kleenexes wiping up the tears!!

SO, this is what was in the box that was on the front porch!  Merikay put her artistic talents to work and sent us a Kleenex box cover, complete with Kleenex!  This is so clever!  She did an excellent job and we love it.  Here’re the photos.

Side One:


Side 2:


Side 3:


Side 4:


And the top:


Isn’t that great?  Thank you so much Craig and Merikay.  You made our day.

Russ had to put a few more props in the picture to highlight the green and yellow!! 

Free Food and Cookie Extravaganza

There were so many places offering free meals to Veterans yesterday that we had to take advantage of it.  We, along with my sister, Laila,  and her hubby, Brian, went to dinner at Red Robin.  Both the guys got a free meal and Laila picked up the rest of the check.  Such a deal!  Then we treated at Dickie Joe’s for dessert.  It is a “fill your own cup” frozen yogurt place with several flavors of soft serve yogurt and LOTS of toppings.  I forgot to take any pictures of either event but it was a great evening.  Before we went I checked Red Robin’s FB page to see what their offer was.  While there were many positive comments about their free Veteran’s Day meal, I was somewhat appalled to a few people complaining about what was being given for free.  SHEESH!  They didn’t have to give anything and we were just grateful for the offer…and it was delicious.  Thank you Red Robin.

Earlier in the day, I had a couple of the local grand girls over for a cookie baking session.  This is always a fun and creative time and we all had a blast. 

We had plenty of cookie cutters and decorations to choose from.  This is Cailin (age 13) in black t-shirt, and Emmie (age 11):



They take their cookie decorating seriously:



Here’s Emmie with her fancy turkey:
 

I even got into the act, but I kept mine simple with only autumn leaves and acorns.  We’ll do Christmas cookies a little later.


I have a TON of cookie cutters but Cailin chose only one…she wanted to make camels.  I think you’ll enjoy her quirky sense of humor as she tells about her cookies in this short video.  You have to see it to the end to get the punch line:



And that was our day.  Hope yours was as fun as ours.

Veteran’s Day 2013

To  my own dear hubby, Russ, thank you.


To my family members:

John Krecklow
Maj. Brian Hood, US Army, Ret.
Bob Hale
John Fritsche
Tony Fritsche
Jim King
Zachary King
And clear back in WWII, Heber Cutler
Thank you.

To the wives and husbands who hold down the fort at home while your soldier is away, Thank You, you also serve.

Thank you to the Canadian military veterans who have so often fought along side us.  May our friendship and mutual respect stay strong.

To all American military veterans, Happy Veteran’s Day. 

And Thank YOU.

I cannot let this day pass without remembering my sister, Sharon, who was lost to us on June 16, 2012.  Today would have marked her 69th birthday. 

Pooling our Resources

The Pacific Northwest is a terrific place to live, most of the time.  Where we live, in the Willamette Valley of Oregon, we are just minutes from rivers, lakes, parks, forests, farms, and countryside.  We are about an hour from the ocean to the west, or the mountains to the east.  Oh sure, our winters are somewhat wet and gray, but we don’t get much snow here and the summers make it all bearable…not to mention our beautiful autumns.




One thing about the summers here is they are just too darn short.  We have some sporadic nice weather in the spring, but summer doesn’t really “arrive” until the 4th of July.  It lasts until about Labor Day.  It makes absolutely no sense to have a backyard swimming pool in this type of environment.  Taking care of a pool is a year round commitment for, at best, three months of enjoyment in the summer. 

So why the heck did we just re-plaster our pool rather than fill it in?  Darned if I know!!  Just kidding – sorta.  We got bids on re-plastering vs. decommissioning and it was about half the cost to re-plaster.  We hemmed and we hawed, weighed the pros and the cons,  and finally decided that, even with all the cons, we like having a pool.  Our kids all learned to swim in that pool, our grandkids likewise, and I can’t even keep track of all the extended family members and friends who have enjoyed our backyard over the years.  We just couldn’t let it go.  An emotional decision rather than a rational one I am sure, but there it is.

Here’s a few pics and a couple of 30 second videos to show the process. The work was done by Northwest Pool and Spa in Eugene.  If you are a local and need any kind of spa, pool or water feature work done, I highly recommend their work.

This is what it looked like BEFORE:  Lots of staining and wear and tear.


First step was to submerge a hugely noisy pump and drain the pool completely.  It was drained out to the street and yes, it was all legal.  The water is clean.  Adding to the noise on confusion, the city decided to finally come that day and take out our Hawthorne tree (without any notice, of course)!  So they got to play in the water!  The pump was annoying and the draining took several hours.


After the pool was empty, the entire surface got an acid wash to clean and etch the existing plaster.  A base coat of gray cement was applied to the entire surface.


Then the plaster was mixed in a noisy machine.  A big hose went from the machine to the backyard and the material was sprayed onto the surface of the pool.  Two people then troweled the plaster to a smooth surface.  Notice the holes in the bottom of the pool.  Those are drilled to keep the pool from floating while the work is being done.


The filling started the next day.  Pools cannot be left empty or they will float, literally popping out of the ground.  They must be filled quickly, especially if there is water close to the surface like we have here.  The pool holds about 25,000 gallons so I am sure we will not be happy to get the water bill this month.


It took 48 hours of the water going day and night at full blast to get the pool filled.  It has been twelve years since we last drained the pool so we don’t exactly waste a lot of water like this all the time!



So, while we may have made a decision with our hearts rather than with our heads, we are looking forward to having some backyard fun this coming year.  If any of you are in the area and the weather is warm, give us a call.  The pool will most likely be open for visitors.  Bring your own goggles haha!



Remember those nasty steps?  This is much better, don’t you think?